Biased Quote by Steven Johnson
“We are strangely biased, as individuals and media institutions, to focus on big sudden changes, whether good or bad - amazing breakthroughs, such as a new gadget that gets released, or catastrophic failures, like a plane crash.”
About This Quote
Source Article: "The Bias of the New", 2015, Wired magazine
People and media overemphasize dramatic events, ignoring gradual trends and smaller changes.
In simple terms: We focus on big shocks, missing slow shifts.
Key Takeaway
Notice subtle changes, not just headlines.
Themes
attention
media bias
trend perception
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
observational
educational
When to use this quote
- monitoring market trends
- evaluating personal progress
- reading long‑term reports
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
information overload
Questions to Reflect On
- How might you balance attention between breakthroughs and incremental progress?
- What small changes have you overlooked?
A Different Perspective
Sudden events can be crucial; not all change is subtle.
![“By sort of combining the research of a lot of smart people, I came up with an equation for dread [dread=uncontrollability+unfamiliarity+imaginability+suffering+scale of destruction+unfairness]. The dread equation is a simplification, but it's a way to explain why we fear something so much when it…” quote by Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf5/amanda-ripley-10708_car_by-sort-of-combining-the-research-of-a-l_338671.jpg)
